At least one student protester was injured Thursday, after Quebec City police fired tear gas into a crowd protesting austerity measures.
One young woman was hit directly in the face, according to local reports, when police fired tear gas following scuffles between the two groups. One person was reportedly arrested for assaulting an officer.
A few hundred protesters gathered outside the National Assembly in Quebec City on Thursday to demonstrate against government-spending cuts, after the province of Quebec released its budget. The budget introduced new cuts to Quebec's education and healthcare sectors, according to the Montreal Gazette.
Photos from local news outlet CBC/Radio-Canada show how close police were standing to protesters when the former fired tear gas into the crowd.
"There is no right reason to shoot someone directly in the face," Camille Godbout, a member of student protest group ASSÉ, told CBC News.
The student strike has been going on for several days, with tensions running high, but police have moved quickly to squash protests, CTV News reported.
On Thursday evening, police cordoned off the area around the National Assembly, and declared the demonstration illegal. Student protesters reportedly tried to force their way through a line of police in riot gear.
The family of the young woman who was injured is considering a lawsuit against Quebec City, according to CBC News.
In Montreal in 2012, proposed tuition hikes at local universities triggered a series of large-scale which sometimes turned violent, as tens of thousands demonstrated in the city's downtown.
